At Oakmont’s Brutal US Open, 2 very different fights appear

Through 36 holes of 2025 US OpenThere was a clear winner: famous and brutal Oakmont country club has hit the world’s best in the West Pennsylvania.

After two rounds, only three players are under the same time, and some of the best games slammed their underwear and went home after Friday cut, including defensive champion Bryson Dechambeau.

Oakmont has caused pain in those who walk on its bases this week, be they an elite PGA Tour star or an amateur qualifier. The label of this US Open is made it “Pain is the point.”

But on Friday, something else bubbles on the surface. Something like the pain that the open US tends to emphasize the importance of once a year – war.

In this open, When challenging conditions are irritated Normally impassable, very different, but equally important fights have appeared in the reasons where Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus and Ben Hogan have won all USA titles.

It was Victor Hovland on Friday, riding in an open roll in the US with five birds, an eagle, three bogeyys and a double Bogey to post a two-nine-68-year-old to get within two 36-year-old leaders in one. We watched as Adam Scott gathered a professional round of golf to charge his second right round even to give himself a legitimate blow in a main title no. 2 on the weekends. There was, of course, Sam Burns, who rode a hot bubble putter On a 65-year-old five-year-old to get the lead in three under the money and placed himself in major championship for the first time in his career. Brooks Koepka, Jj Spaun, Ben Griffin, Russell Henley and like Woo Kim all traveled their way around Oakmont on Friday to give themselves a chance of fighting in the trophy on Sunday and engraving their name in Golf history with an open American victory in Oakmont.

The struggle for heritage, history and final price is the title in Oakmont.

But there was another kind of fighting that took place on the central scene on Friday evening.

The struggle for pride. Pride for yourself, your game and your desire to Survive the toughest golf test And play the weekend in Oakmont.

My colleague Dylan Dothier Chronicle some of Friday’s brilliant stories on both sides of the line.

The proud fight was visible in a big winner five times playing with his C, a Corn Ferry Mill who made it through qualification, a legend of golf aging, a former Masters champion and a player with PGA Tour Americas status and only that dentist and a former Golf Uva player.

Rory Mcilroy began his second round with a double noise in the first and another in the third to fall to eight for the championship. With his gossip attitude and the increasing disappointment, Mcilroy seemed to be headed for a quick exit and traveling home to Jupiter. It would not be surprising to see the wheels fully go out as they did for his game partners, Shane Lowry and Justin Rose.

Instead, Mcilroy withdrew and grinded. This grind included a tomahawked iron down the 12th Street and a 17th marker of destroyed tee. But it also included birds of birds in No. 15 and another in No. 18 to enter the number and reserve two weekends. Mcilroy has not been herself since the victory of his masters, and while Friday’s blows should not be justified or applauded, his war and pride in his game must. The desire to not get the light bow and to mark enough to avoid seeing your tour to finish early.

The same can be said about the qualification James Nicholas.

Nicholas is a career mill that has danced from the Korn Ferry tour at the Tour World DP and back, hoping to find the game to climb the stairs. This is the great thing to open the US. It is the largest most democratic. If you can get your ball in a better hole than anyone else in a local and last qualifier, you can immediately move it along with the sample of the reign masters.

Nicholas scored his ticket to Oakmont through a 67-68 qualification of Canoe Brook and then was one of a small piece of players to play the first round in Oakmont under the money. A weekend ticket was well within his footage that entered Friday.

Then, the Oakmont hit him in his mouth and hit him in the stomach.

A 45-year-old pre-Nicholas, Nicholas crashed down the manager’s board and on the other side of the line. Good story was decided to finish after 27 holes, right?

The mill had other ideas.

Nicholas Zogu 12th of the 12th and then fasted his goal in par-3 13 to five meters for another bird. He filled his approach on par-4 to six feet and made a third bird in a row to jump back inside the foreseen line. After being poured into the bird at no. 14, Nicholas smiled and made the strongest movement towards a family group and friends who made the journey from the New York state to push it to his dreams.

Nicholas tried 15, but responded with a bird at no. 17. A noise in the last took a degenerate look on his face, as he thought seven long might not be so good. It was… in the number. Dreamndra continues for 36 more holes for Nicholas before he has to return to the Korn Ferry tournament and continue to grind his professional golf world.

He had six times the great champion Phil Mickelson, potentially in his latest US conclusion, scratching and caught up for the weekend-you get into the open US for two more days. His Birdie put the end of the end lost, and he went home, but not in front of a touch gesture, like detailed by Nick Pastowski.

There was Hideki Matsuyama who was pouring into a 13 -foot bird to 18 to do it.

But the proud war was not only contained in the line.

George Duangmenee, who has conditioned status only in PGA Tour Americas, disappeared from Oakmont. He shot a first round 86, and the second round did not become better. He shot a ninth 47 on Friday. His championship was very tall, but Duangmenee found comfort in another battle-breaking 90. His head down, Duangmenee made a principle in par-4 14 before falling from a double Bogey to 15 years. Unwanted, Duangmenee made a money in 16 years before he was unable to get his ball from Fescue to green in par-4 17th and settled for Bogey.

In the 18th, Duangmenee had to do the Bogey-5 to shoot 89. He exploded his intention in the street bunker and had to go out, which left him a complicated blow. He hit a wedge in 36 meters and wrapped his money six meters in front of the hole. Six feet stood between Duangmenee and a US Open 90. He took a deep breath and studied Putt as if it were to play the weekend or enter the last group and not avoid 90.

He poured it inside.

Mcilroy, Nicholas and Matsuyama will play the weekend. Duangmenee, Mickelson and dentist Matt Vogt, an open American hero from Pittsburgh, will not.

But all of them fought on Friday at Oakmont.

Because in the open SH.BA on this famous, harsh, iconic road, THAT It’s the point.

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